Day shares a few tips to consider during the process. In the book, the writers “get real nerdy with it” and use a centrifuge to make the strawberry syrup, but using a blender to combine the strawberries and sugar is just fine. He also advises to make sure you’re using enough ice (to the brim!) in your cocktail shaker and to keep your champagne equally as cold. “Bubbles don’t like warm temperatures,” he says. “Get it ripping cold so your drink is nice and frothy.”

Sure, these at-home drinks might not be an exact carbon copy of the cocktail bar experience we all miss—dim lighting, music at the perfect volume, the smooth bartop feel, and the randomly compelling conversation of a stranger. But Day hopes that these tips and recipes will be the next best thing.

“Anyone who’s cooked a really extravagant feast for the holidays and wasn’t prepared beforehand knows they went down in flames,” he says, adding that he already has spreadsheets going for his Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. “Planning ahead a bit affords us at-home hosts some luxuries. Because you’re supposed to have fun, too.”